Rescue Mission
Rescue Mission Two people, once bitter enemies, would care less if the other had a misfortune. Now, they were bonded in friendship. Now, they would do anything for the other in their misfortune. A vow that needed testing. It was a warm, sunny day like any other in that summer on Kyoshi Island. Katara had come to the island after her boyfriend, Avatar Aang, went away on another round of postwar peace meetings. It was a long process that was continuing, and likely would for a while. Although she would miss her love, she had a new best friend awaiting her. Ty Lee never thought much of Katara, beyond that of simply being an enemy. Just another person to do battle against in the mires of war. However, that war came to an end, and when it did, she found herself able to befriend this girl from the Water Tribes. Ty Lee had changed greatly from her days in the Fire Nation, now living out her days on the small Earth Kingdom island of Kyoshi, the first Fire Nation citizen with the Kyoshi Warriors, helping to defend her new home. She found a new best friend, however, in Katara, when they first met at the coronation of the new Fire Lord, who was the ruler of the Fire Nation. They opened up about their past, and then, even after they separated, they wrote letters to one another, and became close over time. Katara and Ty Lee now could tell each other anything comfortably, looking upon one another as a trusting, caring teenager, who had their best interests at heart. If one was troubled, the other would turn around and comfort. If one was attacked, the other would attack back. However, a harrowing situation had never befallen them. In just a couple of days, Aang would return to the island to pick up Katara, and they would return to their home in the Southern Water Tribe. Katara, naturally, was in an upbeat mood. However, she was about to become part of the island's newest trouble. Over the past four weeks, prior to Katara's most recent arrival, a gang of bandits had arrived on the island, their headquarters unknown. The mayor of the island and the Kyoshi Warriors were stumped, not knowing how to catch them. As Katara was a master waterbender, she pledged help in any way if they were to strike during her time there. Their leader was wanted for a hundred gold pieces, and the individuals for twenty each. Katara hoped they would never come, but she kept vigilant. In any event, she was about to spend her last bit of time with Ty Lee for her vacation. They would have a simple day...or so they thought. The sun illuminated Katara's path to Ty Lee's home, a simply stunning day. Nary a cloud dotted the crystal-clear blue sky, as the Water Tribe girl walked in her blue dress, pants and light brown boots, her long brown hair, only held in by a bun flowing down to the middle of her back, and two strands of hair attached to the hair on either side of her face with two beads at the end, her so-called "hair loopies". Her blue eyes gleamed in the sunlight, and it also reflected somewhat off of her necklace. Inside, Ty Lee had completed her look for the day. She was in the Kyoshi Warrior attire: A green kimono, with shielding on the front of it. Her hands were enclosed in black gloves, and the arms of the kimono were banded with black wristbands with a gold insignia on it. Her face was painted white, with red paint somewhat over her eyeballs. Her hair was braided, and her head was decorated with a headpiece fronted with gold, and two sticks attached to its back. She wore black boots to complete the attire. As she finished, she heard the knock at her door, and she knew who it was. She opened the door, and there stood the Water Tribe girl. "Katara!" Ty Lee exclaimed upon sight. "Hey, Ty Lee!" Katara returned the favor. The two girls hugged briefly before looking towards one another. "What's the plan for today?" Katara asked of her best friend. "Well," Ty Lee began, "I want to show you some things. First, we should go to lunch, then, did you hear? That artist who re-designed the Kyoshi statue is back in town today! He said he'll do paintings of anyone who wants them. We should go, get one of ourselves!" "Good idea," the Water Tribe girl said with a nod and a smile. "I'm hungry, so I agree that we should get lunch first." "All right," the Kyoshi Warrior and Fire Nation native said. "Let's go!" The two girls entered the restaurant, and on this day, they were allowed to seat themselves. With that, they went to a table near the front of the establishment. A short time later, two menus were delivered to them, and after another few moments, they made up their mind. A waiter took their orders, the two returned their menus to him, and then the wait began. The best friends figured they could pass the time with general conversation. "So," Katara began, "I meant to ask you yesterday. What do you think about these bandits that have plagued the island?" "I don't know," Ty Lee answered, resting her chin on her folded hands. "They're very hard to catch. We don't know where they're headquartered. We get cases, but then we don't know where else to move. It's bugging us, Oyaji, and the investigators. They can be stopped, it's just a matter of...you know, doing so. You don't know where they're going to strike next. My worst fear, of course, is them coming after us." "Don't worry," Katara assured her. "They would know better than to come after you girls. Even if they did...as long as I'm here, they won't get anywhere." "Thanks," Ty Lee said back to her best friend, smiling all the way. "I really admire that about you, Katara. You're always looking out for your friends, always so caring." "I guess it's just always been me," the young waterbender said back to her best friend. "It's a great quality to have," the Kyoshi Warrior added. "I always could tell you had it." As the two girls exchanged their words about the bandits, a man next to them looked towards them. He had mostly had his head down, drinking some mineral water. However, his head tilted up as he heard them talk. His voice then finally made itself known, quieter than a mouse. However, to him, his words were perfectly clear. "You may be able to stick up for your friends...but let's see them try and stick up for you." After this, he paid for his water and left, returning to his home base. He walked up a hill well outside the village. On the way, he passed the Kyoshi Warriors' training facility, giving it a poisonous look. After that, he continued well outside the village, into slightly outside the clearing of trees. He then entered a seemingly broken down building, which had a sign that had fallen down months ago. Inside, the building was darkened except for a stray candlelight on a table. There were several windows that had broken, and all of them were covered by weak shading. However, behind a closed door remained all the goods that the bandits had stolen: Necklaces, gold pieces, hairpieces, rings, and many other various riches. The building was a perfect front for the bandits; no one would suspect them of anything with a headquarters in poor shape, and no apparent signs of money anywhere. "Welcome back Du Pori," a man, appearing to be the boss, said to the arrival. "What did you get?" "I think we have hit the jackpot, Hanka," Du Pori said, smirking. "I found that Kyoshi Warrior and her best friend, the Water Tribe girl. Now, all we need is to track down the Water Tribe girl's whereabouts." "I have Yatiya on that," Hanka assured him. "He will keep track of those two, then follow the Water Tribe girl to her home. He'll get her address, then we can all jump into action." As he finished that statement, two more men walked in with a pair of boxes in each of their hands. "Ah, Soli, Ulaza...welcome. How did it go?" The boss asked his allies. "We made out pretty nicely," Soli said. He opened his boxes to reveal two shining wristbands made of gold, one decorated with a sparkling diamond, and the other with a twinkling ruby. "These must be valued at fifty gold pieces each. We inspected them, and they are real jewels." Ulaza opened his boxes to reveal a silver necklace in one, and a Kyoshi Warriors' fan in another. "This fan appears to be one of the earliest designs of the Kyoshi Warrior design. Antique collectors would kill for this." "Send it to the closet," Hanka said. "You two were also a little loud there. Keep quiet...the Kyoshi Warriors have been on us...hence this plan. Now, I need all of you here." The three bandits took seats around the table, their eyes focused on their boss. "Once Yatiya gets the address of that Water Tribe girl...tonight, you seize her once the Kyoshi Warrior she's with is out of sight. You break in, and make sure you knock her out. I will supply you all with meteor hammers to accomplish this task. When you three finish, Yatiya will send the ransom note to the Kyoshi Warrior the next morning. After this, we eliminate her and the other girl or force her to keep quiet, and then make our escape. We get new identities and sail to Omashu, sell these goods, and start our new lives." "How will we get a boat out of here?" Du Pori asked. "Thanks to that connection I built with the 97th division of the army in the city," Hanka answered, "we have our escape. The commander will provide us with an Earth Kingdom navy boat, and we'll use it to set sail to Omashu." "This won't be easy, given that the Water Tribe girl is a master waterbender, and the Kyoshi Warrior in question was the one who brought chi-blocking over here," Soli noted, a quiver in his voice. "Don't fear," Hanka said. "We're five master earthbenders, we'll have the waterbender knocked out, and we can take another teenager." "She did beat out essentially the entire Terra Team on her own during the War," Ulaza reminded his boss, "and they were some of the best earthbenders around." "That's why we trained in the art of dodging, right?" The crime boss said to his ally, smirking. "We'll be fine..let's try not to fear and focus on our mission at hand." The four men all grinned, preparing for the mission that would lead to their new lives, while ending those of their two biggest enemies. Later, the night fell. It was a night of quiet...but it was as if the quiet was screaming to the two girls who were taking the walk to Katara's place of stay. Nearby, the enemies lurked in the bushes, ready to go after getting the information that they needed. Three of the men would seize Katara, one would write the ransom note to Ty Lee, and the fifth person would deliver it to the latter of the friends. "Ty Lee..." Katara looked to her friend and said. "Do you get a bad feeling?" "Why?" Ty Lee wondered out loud. "Katara, it's a beautiful night! Nothing's wrong, it's just us wrapping up a great night! Well, I guess the only thing wrong is that we're splitting for the night." She laughed and placed a hand on the Water Tribe girl's shoulder. "I don't know..." Katara's voice was trailing away from the Kyoshi Warrior to her left. "I get this feeling that someone's following us." "Katara," Ty Lee began. "Do you see anyone here, besides me? No one is following you, girl." Katara simply sighed, but then began to think. Maybe I am just being paranoid...it's only me and her. I don't see anyone...I don't hear anything besides the hoots of a cat owl, I guess. She shrugged as she finished the thought. "I guess you're right." "Good!" Ty Lee exclaimed, and then opened her arms out for an embrace. Katara returned it warmly, bidding her friend a good night. "See you tomorrow," Ty Lee added. Katara proceeded to finally smile. "Yep...enjoy your night, Ty Lee. Sleep well." Ty Lee nodded, and with that, she was on her way home. The young Water Tribe girl turned around and entered her place of stay, walking into the darkened room. She figured that she was not tired yet, and thus decided to light a candle with two small sticks. The light flickered through the living area, giving Katara some light to work with as she decided to prepare tea. Meanwhile, the three men outside moved towards a window on the right side of Katara's home. They peaked inside to see the girl distracted, happily humming a little tune as she used spark rocks to strike a fire under the tea kettle filled with water. "All right," Du Pori whispered. "I'll get digging." With that, he opened the ground below him, and led his allies down the tunnel. Alongside him were Hanka and Ulaza. Inside, Katara heard the shake of the earth. Her eyes opened wider as she moved towards the window in question. She took the candle she had just lit, and held it close to the window to see if she could see what happened. However, the hole was far away enough that it was out of Katara's eyesight. With that, she shrugged again. Under her home, her fate was about to be sealed. The men continued to dig, Du Pori leading the way. Soon, they felt around at the ceiling of the tunnel they had crafted. They could feel the wooden floor up above. "Step back," Du Pori said. With that, he pulled a boulder out of the earthen wall. He got to his knees and shot it upward. The boulder smashed through the floor, and Katara turned around quickly. She let out a yell as the bandits jumped out. "You're coming with us!" Hanka yelled. Katara quickly got focused and prepared a fighting stance. She drew water out of the water skin she always kept attached to her back and formed it into a whip. The whip knocked Hanka backwards, but it didn't mean much. Ulaza grabbed the hot tea kettle. He held it, waiting for the opportunity. Du Pori continued to shoot earth out of the ground below, giving Hanka weapons to work with. The bandit boss shot these rocks as quickly as he could, but Katara was quick to dodge. The rocks were damaging the house in a hurry, smashing glass and walls into pieces. Katara then turned towards the kitchen. She dodged another rock from Hanka, but turned herself in a way that she was facing Ulaza. Now! The bandit thought, and he tossed the hot water at her. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Katara yelled out, as the hot water burned her face. She placed her hands over her eyes and fell to the ground. As she fell, the bandits surrounded her. They then used the rocks that Du Pori brought up to bind her hands and feet, disabling any way to get to her waterbending. Hanka then hit her in the head with another small rock, knocking the waterbender unconscious. "All right..let's get her out of here," Hanka said. With that, her mouth was bounded shut by a piece of fabric. Du Pori tied it around her, placing it in a knot just over her neck. He then took her by the neck of her blue dress, and began to drag her out of the house. They soon made their way out. With that, Soli delivered the note. It was rolled up and held together by a black ribbon. The note was placed in her mailbox, to ensure it would not blow away. Inside, Ty Lee slept peacefully. Little did she know what had just happened. When the next morning began, Katara came to and opened her eyes. However, all she saw was the darkness of the bandit's headquarters. A couple of men walked around before one turned to her. The waterbender's eyes lit up in fear. "Who are you? Where am I?" She nervously asked. "Shush!" Hanka yelled. "None of this is for you to know...but your little friend soon will." "What did you do with Ty Lee!?" Katara yelled. "If you hurt her--" "Not to worry," Hanka replied. "Your friend is fine...but, if she is daring, she may not be." Back down in the safety of the village, Ty Lee rose from her sleep and made her way outside. She smiled at what was again looking like a beautiful day, and couldn't help but whistle in time to a flying blue jay's tweets for a moment, until she saw the letter attached to her mailbox. "What's this?" The Kyoshi Warrior wondered as she opened it. "ATTENTION: Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee, We snatched your little Water Tribe friend from you. We know you and the reminder of those warriors are trying to come after us -- so you listen here. You come to our headquarters, and we'll return her to you. But, you must promise to cooperate in our escape from this island, and then speak nothing of us. If you dare try to turn us in to any authority, we will kill you and Katara. If you try to attack us, we'll again kill you both. Cooperate, and everything is fine. Sincerely, Hanka." Ty Lee finished the letter, and her happy mood was dashed. She began to cry, tears dripping down her face, and then dropped to her knees. "Katara...no...I'm so sorry...how could I have let this happen..." Electing to at least try something, Ty Lee then got into her Kyoshi Warrior get-up and made her way to the training facility. "You're late," the leader, Suki, told her upon arrival, but then noticed her downbeat look. "Is something wrong?" "It's Katara," Ty Lee answered. "They took her. Those bandits took her!" Suki gasped and placed her hand over her mouth in shock. "Oh no...this is not good," she then proceeded to say. "Well...what did they say?" "They're planning an escape," Ty Lee replied. "But...we can't do anything...or they'll kill her and me. I wasn't even supposed to tell you..." Suki's look grew more angered as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "The heck you weren't. Now you listen. We're going to come with you and we're going to rescue Katara." "No," Ty Lee responded strongly. "Yes," Suki snapped back. "I don't want you girls in on this," Ty Lee said. "I have something to prove to Katara. We may have already forgiven each other...but I want to show her just how much I care. I want to go about this alone. This is between me and them. Suki...if I don't come back by nightfall...you can assume me dead." With that, Ty Lee walked out and began her climb up the mountain to the bandits' headquarters. "There goes one of the bravest girls I've ever seen...and perhaps the most foolish," Suki whispered quietly. Back inside, the men inside were scheming their plans as Katara grew angrier. "You are not going to get away with this!" The waterbender yelled. "As soon as someone gets here, you're done! Unless you want to untie me..." "I think that's enough out of you," Hanka replied. He then pulled out what looked like a pill. "Du Pori, hold her down please." Hanka's assistant then grabbed Katara's mouth and forced it open. As tough as she tried, Katara could not break away. Hanka then placed the pill into her mouth, and forced her to swallow it. The pill turned out to be a sedative, and soon, Katara was asleep. "Take my best friend..." Ty Lee murmured as she made her way up to the abandoned building. "Big mistake. You're right where I want you." She then knocked on the door, and Ulaza opened it. "Hey boss," he said to Hanka. "Looks like the Kyoshi Warrior is here." Hanka walked up to Ty Lee, to see the warrior standing with a mean look, her arms crossed. "What. Did. You. Do. With. Katara!? Tell me...right now." Her words were abrasive and demanding. "She's right here," Hanka replied, and then pointed her to the subdued and restrained Water Tribe girl. Ty Lee tried to walk towards her, but she was stopped. "Uhhh...no you don't. I think you have something you owe us. You need to keep quiet about us....little girl. You agree to let us go....Katara is yours again, and you carry on our way. We're going to keep someone hot on your tail. Tell no one about us." Ty Lee looked to her tied down and clearly beaten best friend. She wanted her back more than anything in the world at that moment. But, if she knew Katara, Ty Lee knew that her waterbending friend would not just give up and let crime go on its way. If I truly care about her...I will not just let this go. Hanka waited for Ty Lee's decision. She continued to think. This...will be for you. We're getting out of this, Katara. With that, the Kyoshi Warrior drew her fan and struck Hanka across the face, and then moved to rescue Katara. "After her!" Hanka declared. Ulaza and Du Pori charged towards Ty Lee. However, the warrior was more than a match for their earthbending abilities. Ulaza quickly pulled a boulder out from the earthen floor, but Ty Lee did a somersault out of the way, and the boulder instead flew through the building, creating a large hole at its front. Du Pori then decided to go on the non-bending offensive, seeing the damage Ulaza's earthbending had done. He grabbed a series of daggers, throwing them at Ty Lee. However, Ty Lee got her fan up and knocked them out of the way. She then tossed the fan at Du Pori, hitting him in the face and knocking him out cold. Hanka got up and grabbed the daggers Ty Lee had knocked to the floor. He then fired one, and it scraped the warrior's robing, causing a cut to open. Blood began to sneak out, but Ty Lee didn't care, knowing what her goal was. She then tossed her retrieved fan at Hanka, knocking him down again. "Soli! Yatiya! Get out here!" Hanka yelled for his last two assistants. "Ulaza! Du Pori! GET UP!" But Du Pori was not responding. As Ty Lee dodged the toss of a sai from Ulaza, she then removed the roping that tied Katara's hands behind the chair. Just one more restraint...come on... However, Yatiya came out and bent another rock out of the ground. Ty Lee barely had enough time to duck, and it missed her head only by a couple of inches. The warrior then got up and saw Soli coming after her. However, she dodged his attack, and then went to the move only she could do in that group...chi-blocking. She then put up two fingers, and jabbed quickly at several points on Soli's body. Before he realized it, Soli lost the feelings in his chi points, and he fell to the ground, rendered unable to fight. Ty Lee then held Yatiya off for the moment with another toss of a fan, and then undid the rope around Katara's shoulders, releasing the subdued waterbender. She then grabbed her, and lifted her up onto her back, carrying her out of the bandits' headquarters. Hanka and Ulaza gave quick chase, Yatiya trailing behind them. Ty Lee was running as fast as she could, trying to get to the Kyoshi Warriors' training facility with Katara in tow. However, trying to carry the waterbender and run was an exhausting combo for her, especially wearing the additional equipment of the Kyoshi Warrior. Ty Lee had no choice but to stop for the moment. She placed Katara on the ground under a tree, seeing her eyes still closed. A look of concern dotted Ty Lee's face as she brushed her hand Katara's cheek, pushing some stray strands of her hair out of her eyes. "Wake up..." Soon, the bandits located her. "Give it up, little girl," Hanka said. "You are outnumbered three-to-one. It's over." The Kyoshi Warrior just drew in her breath, and prepared to fight. "I'm not letting you go free," she declared. Quickly, the three men shot rocks at her, but Ty Lee turned to crafty dodging, using backflips and quick movements to get out of the way. She needed to find a way to get to their chi points and disable them as fast as she could, then return to the warriors and have them take care of these guys for good. Hanka bent a boulder out of a nearby rock formation and tossed it at Ty Lee in a hurry, but the young woman dodged again. She pulled out her katana and charged, but Hanka quickly swiped it away, leaving it out of Ty Lee's reach. Soon, Ulaza fired a slab of rock at the warrior, this time it hit her on the side of her body, knocking her to the ground. Seeing an opportunity to finish things, Hanka unleashed a rock slide in Ty Lee's direction, but she was able to recover fast enough to throw herself out of the way. A frustrated Hanka then threw a knife at her, but again Ty Lee dodged it. "I'll get the waterbender!" Yatiya yelled, before making his way over to Katara's still-subdued body. No you won't. Big mistake, Ty Lee quickly thought. She then ran over and struck Yatiya's chi points, causing him to fall to the ground, temporarily paralyzed. Hanka's teeth gritted with disgust over Yatiya's failed attempt, but he just kept on pushing. Him and Ulaza fired rocks in every direction, but Ty Lee was just too fast. At the same rate, however, when she moved in for chi blocking, the two men were able to move out of the way. Someone needed a break. However, Ty Lee knew how to get it after some time. She could tell that the men were somewhat off-balance when dodging her chi-blocking moves. It was just a matter of the extra movement to try and get a finishing strike in. Ty Lee charged at Ulaza after another of his bending attempts failed. She then moved quicker, and although he dodged, his balance was giving away. Ty Lee then turned to kicks in addition to her attempted jabs, and soon Ulaza fell to the ground as he landed awkwardly dodging a kick. Ty Lee quickly blocked his chi, leaving it down to just her and Hanka. "Now do you give up?" Ty Lee taunted. "Never, little girl," Hanka declared. He then pushed another rock slide Ty Lee's way, but again the agile warrior pulled off movements that allowed her to dodge the attack, her acrobatic skills paying dividends. Ty Lee then attempted to move in for the finishing moves, but Hanka grabbed her hand as she tried to. The bandit wrapped his arms around her neck, choking the warrior. "Surrender, and I will let go." Her breath fading, Ty Lee tried to think of whatever she could. Her arms were caught, disallowing her to make hand movements to his chi. She then resorted finally to using her free leg to kick him in the knee, causing him to release his grasp as he howled in pain. The bandit fell to the ground on his knees, and allowed time for Ty Lee to catch her breath after the choke attempt. She then moved in as fast as she could and blocked his chi, and thus he fell to the ground on his back. "That is what you get for messing with the Kyoshi Warriors...and most importantly...my best friend." Ty Lee then raced over to Katara, picked her back up and hoisted her onto her back again. The warrior still saw her arm bleeding from the earlier cut, but did not care. All she needed was to get Katara back to safety, and then have the Kyoshi Warriors take care of the bandits. Moments later, Ty Lee was at the dojo, where the warriors were just standing around, having waited for her. She placed Katara's still-subdued body on the floor gently, face-up. Ty Lee then fell to the ground on her knees, exhausted, but she still managed to speak. "The bandits...they're on the hill. Disabled. Get them. Some are outside, some are still in their facility." Suki heard Ty Lee's words even though her breath was strained. "Well, you heard her girls," she then instructed to the warriors. "Let's bring them in. Ty Lee...you stay behind." She then noticed the blood on her left arm. "You're hurt..." "Don't worry," Ty Lee told her. "Just take care of them. I'll be fine." Suki nervously nodded and followed her fellow warriors up the hill and to where the bandits were. Meanwhile, Ty Lee stayed behind, eyes locked on her friend. Soon, Katara began to stir, the sedative wearing off. The waterbender picked her head up, seeing Ty Lee standing before her. Having no clue of what had happened, how she wound up in the Kyoshi Warrior training facility, all she could get out was a series of questions. "Ty Lee? Where am I? What's going on? Where are those guys?" Ty Lee smiled as her friend rose. She then helped lift her up by placing a hand over her back and lifting. "I beat them," Ty Lee then responded. "Nothing special...just...chi-blocking. I wasn't just going to let them get away with things...so, I did what I felt you would. I fought them to rescue you." Katara then smiled brightly. "You risked your life against five bandits...for me?" "Yeah....I guess I did," Ty Lee replied softly. "I was also doing it for the island, and to save this place from their savagery...but I also did it for you...because you're my best friend, and I wouldn't want to let you get hurt, physically or mentally." "Good enough for me," the waterbender said, and she grabbed the warrior and pulled her into a hug. "You're right...if I was in the same position, I would have tried to eliminate them as well. You did very well. There's no reason that they should have gotten away...and I'm proud of you for thinking of the islanders in addition to me." Ty Lee hugged Katara back. "Thanks...I'm just glad you're okay. The rest of the warriors are arresting them now." After they separated, Katara took notice of the cut her friend had sustained. "Oh...you're bleeding. Hold on...let me go back to my house and get my water skin. I'll take care of that." Moments later, the Water Tribe girl returned with the skin full of water. She then came back next to Ty Lee, bent some water out and placed it over her right hand. She was about to engage in the waterbending sub-art of healing, an art which only a few waterbenders had learned, which allowed them to heal external injuries like Ty Lee's cut. Katara placed her water-covered hand and rubbed it over the wound, and soon, it ceased bleeding and only the scratch mark remained. "I don't think I'll be able to do anything about the mark," Katara said, "but there. Now you're all right." Ty Lee gave a thankful smile and simply said, "Thank you, Katara." "Anytime," Katara replied, then proceeded to cup Ty Lee's cheek in her hand. "You too are my best friend...and I would also do anything for you. You're a great person...don't ever change that, you hear?" "Never," Ty Lee replied. After this, the two again embraced tightly, thankful that they had returned to each other's lives. They had made that vow to protect one another, and now, it had been filled. They truly were the best of friends.